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Mini pineapple upside down cakes in ramekins! Such a cute dessert for two!

mini-pineapple-upside-down-cakes

If we’re being completely honest here (which I hope we always are), I don’t love a big towering chocolate cake for my birthday. I like a simple mini pineapple upside down cake with a cherry in the middle. It has to be the caramel sauce that makes me love this dessert so much.

I love having my own personal cake made in a ramekin. It’s such a fun way to serve cake to everyone–no slicing and serving, just dump out the ramekins before serving!

These are the 10-ounce ramekins I use so that we get two decent sized mini cakes. If you buy them online, it’s hard to buy them in anything less than a six pack. It’s okay, because I use these mini bowls for prepping when I’m cooking or for holding sprinkles and such when I’m decorating cookies. If you have a small kitchen shop near you, you can probably just buy the two ramekins you need without getting stuck with extra ramekins.

Plus, I love shopping in little kitchen shops! I think the items they carry are so perfectly curated, and it makes me want to go home and cook immediately!

Mini pineapple upside down cakes in ramekins:

There are times when I replace the cherry with some chopped pecans. Pecans do amazing things in the oven when cooked in a sugary, buttery caramel sauce. I think that’s just my Texas showing, my love of pecans in desserts is so deep. Have you seen my pecan sticky buns or my ultimate big and chewy pecan chocolate chunk cookies? I always have a bag of pecans in my pantry.

If you’re searching for cherries for these mini pineapple upside down cakes, you’re looking for the bright red maraschino cherries in the canned fruit aisle. However, if you have fancy amarena cherries that you use for garnishing cocktails, then please use those! They don’t have the bright red characteristic flavor, but they are freaking delicious!

 

Yield: 2 small cakes

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

Mini pineapple upside down cakes made in ramekins, serves two.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the pineapple topping:

  • 4 pineapple rings
  • 4 pecan halves (or maraschino cherries, your choice)
  • 2 tablespoons butter, plus extra for greasing ramekins
  • 8 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons white sugar for ramekins

For the cakes:

  • 3 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 8 teaspoons white sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup unbleached flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° and butter and sugar two 8-ounce ramekins.

First make the pineapple topping: In a small skillet over medium-low heat, melt the brown sugar and the butter. When the sugar is melted, divide between the two ramekins.

Then, place one pineapple ring in the center of each ramekin. Slice up the remaining rings and arrange around the whole ring in order to cover the entire bottom of the ramekin. In the middle ring, place one pecan half with the curved side up. Split the remaining pecan halves to fill the other gaps in the pineapple rings. Set aside while making the cake batter.

In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and sugar using an electric mixer.

Add the extracts, then the egg, mixing well.

Add the flour, pinch of salt, and baking powder. Beat well.

Finally, add the buttermilk. Once combined, divide the batter evenly between the ramekins and bake for 30 minutes.

Let cool 10-15 minutes before inverting onto plates.

© Christina Lane
Category: Small Cake Recipes from Scratch